“Clean meat”

PETA doesn’t normally see eye-to-eye with Cargill, a Minnesota-based corporation that markets meat and other animal-derived products, but it applauds the company’s recent decision to invest in Memphis Meats, a Bay Area startup that grows meat in a laboratory. “Clean meat,” as it’s called, can ultimately help reduce animal suffering and combat climate change and other environmental problems.

Memphis Meats says the process produces 90 percent less greenhouse-gas emissions and uses about 1 percent of the land and 10 percent of the water that’s used for conventional meat production. Laboratory-grown meat also doesn’t require the use of animal feed and manure storage lagoons, and it doesn’t involve the antibiotics and additives that are commonly associated with animal agriculture.

Both Cargill and Tyson Foods—the largest U.S. meat company, which has invested in Beyond Meat, a company that makes plant-based meats—clearly recognize that more and more people are interested in vegan meals. Cargill just made a wise investment for the future, but there’s no need to wait for “clean meat” to become commercially available—tasty vegan meats and other plant-based foods are available in supermarkets and restaurants today. Give them a try. See www.PETA.org for more information and a free vegan starter kit.